Happy Birthday, My Toon!

Rebecca and I had our very first encounter over IM. She was in the middle of high school relationship turmoil and I was her soon-to-be college roommate. Never having met her before, I was a little surprised when she asked me for advice about a boy, but being my normal precocious self, I offered my observation-based expertise.

When we met, it was instant friendship. (Laura was there, of course, and I love her...but it's not her birthday.) The very first night together we were all singing and laughing and talking until all hours of the night. She has a beautiful alto voice that I covet from time to time. :)

There were rocky moments in college. I was too distant, too dispassionate sometimes. She was occasionally a little moody for my taste. But, like good friends do, we worked through it. There were several times that we both ended up crying together. Rebecca's presence gave me permission to feel a lot of things I'd been missing over the years. She was also played a key role in the evolution of my opinion about women in ministry. It was rather ironic that I, Miss Women-Should-Be-Submissive, would be placed with a young woman who felt called into the ministry. Providential, perhaps?

During our sophomore year, I watched Schindler's List with one of our floormates. Before the movie was over, I came back to our room in tears and lay down on my bed to sob. Rebecca lay there with me for two hours. Not talking, just being with me when I needed someone.

We drifted apart during senior year at Houghton. It was easy enough to do since she was in Australia first semester and I was in Africa second semester. We didn't see each other much and when we were on campus at the same time, I was mostly a jerk trying to work through my heaps of separation anxiety by avoiding most of my old friends. Fortunately, my jerkiness didn't end our friendship.

I don't get to see My Toon nearly enough these days. We spend time together when we can, send emails and IMs and call each other fairly often, but it's never quite enough to be satisfying. We've been friends for just over seven years. Seems a lot longer. Here's to another seven just as good. Here's to fifty if we both make it!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, REBECCA!!!